Ozone converter with internal bypass

ABSTRACT

An ozone converter that includes an outer housing having an inlet and an outlet is disclosed. In this embodiment the ozone converter includes a core disposed within the outer housing and a bypass cylinder disposed between the inlet and the outlet and that passes through the core such that air within the bypass cylinder does not contact the core. The ozone converter of this embodiment also includes a blocking sleeve that surrounds a portion of the bypass cylinder and that is moveable from a first position to a second position. When the bypass sleeve is in the first position air that enters in the inlet is directed by the blocking sleeve into the bypass cylinder and when it is in the second position air that enters the inlet is allowed to enter an outer passage between the bypass cylinder and the outer housing.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The subject matter disclosed herein relates to an ozone converter and inparticular to an ozone converter for use with an aircraft environmentalcontrol system.

Aircraft have power systems that are comprised of several components,such as an engine, an environmental control system and a thermalmanagement system. These systems are designed relatively independentlyfrom each other with power being transferred from one system to another.

The environmental control system supplies pressurized air to the cabinand flight deck of an aircraft. The ambient air is drawn either from thecompressor stage of an engine (a bleed air system) or a dedicatedcompressor. At high altitude (e.g., greater than 20,000 ft (6096 m)),the ambient air contains unacceptable levels of ozone (O₃). Passengercomfort and/or compliance with regulations or agreements can limit theamount of ozone provided to the cabin and flight deck. As such,commercial aircraft generally include an ozone converter that convertsozone to oxygen (O₂).

Ozone converters typically include an ozone-converting core (core) thatincludes a catalyst which causes the ozone to decompose to oxygen. Tominimize the core's exposure to contamination and extend the life of theconverter, air is externally bypassed around the converter when theaircraft is at low altitude. However, in some cases, there is no spaceavailable to incorporate an external bypass.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

According to one embodiment, an ozone converter that includes an outerhousing having an inlet and an outlet is disclosed. In this embodimentthe ozone converter includes a core disposed within the outer housingand a bypass cylinder disposed between the inlet and the outlet and thatpasses through the core such that air within the bypass cylinder doesnot contact the core. The ozone converter of this embodiment alsoincludes a blocking sleeve that surrounds a portion of the bypasscylinder and that is moveable from a first position to a secondposition. When the bypass sleeve is in the first position air thatenters in the inlet is directed by the blocking sleeve into the bypasscylinder and when it is in the second position air that enters the inletis allowed to enter an outer passage between the bypass cylinder and theouter housing.

According to another embodiment, an ozone converter that includes anouter housing having an inlet and an outlet, a core disposed within theouter housing and a bypass cylinder disposed between the inlet and theoutlet and that passes through the core such that air within the bypasscylinder does not contact the core is disclosed. The blocking element ofthis embodiment further includes a blocking element disposed within thebypass cylinder and moveable from a first position to a second position,the blocking element being disposed such that it at least partiallyblocks air from traveling through the bypass cylinder when in the firstposition.

According to yet another embodiment, a system that includes a source ofinput air, one or more air parameter adjusting devices that change oneor both of the temperature and pressure of the input air to produceconditioned air and an ozone converter that reduces the ozone content ofthe conditioned air to produce output air is disclosed. In thisembodiment, the ozone converter includes an outer housing having aninlet and an outlet, a core disposed within the outer housing, and abypass cylinder disposed between the inlet and the outlet and thatpasses through the core such that air within the bypass cylinder doesnot contact the core. In this embodiment, the core includes a blockingelement disposed within the bypass cylinder and moveable from a firstposition to a second position, the blocking element being disposed suchthat it at least partially blocks air from traveling through the bypasscylinder when in the first position.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The subject matter which is regarded as the invention is particularlypointed out and distinctly claimed in the claims included at theconclusion of the specification. The foregoing and other features, andadvantages of the invention are apparent from the following detaileddescription taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings inwhich:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a system in which embodiments ofthe present invention can be implemented;

FIG. 2 is cut-away side view of an ozone converter having an internalbypass in the open position according to one embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 3 is cut-away side view of an ozone converter having an internalbypass in the closed position according to one embodiment of the presentinvention; and

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of an ozone converter without its externalshell to illustrate features of an ozone converter according to oneembodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

FIG. 1 illustrates a system 100 in which embodiments of the presentinvention may be implemented. The system 100 can be part of an aircraftor any other type of apparatus that can cause the system 100 to be movedin a forward direction. For clarity, the following description willassume that the system 100 is part of an aircraft but it is not solimited.

The system 100 illustrated in FIG. 1 includes an environmental controlsystem (ECS) 102. The ECS 102 receives input air 104 and provides outputair 120 to a location 112 within an apparatus. For example, the location112 could be the flight deck or passenger compartment of an aircraft. Itshall be understood that the ECS 102 shown in FIG. 1 is extremelysimplified and could include many other or different elements.

As illustrated, the ECS 102 includes an air parameter adjusting unit106. The air parameter adjusting unit 106, generally, converts thepressure and/or temperature of the input air 104 to a desired level. Inone embodiment, the input air 104 is bleed air from a compressor sectionof an engine. In another embodiment, the input air 104 is ram airreceived directly from the atmosphere. Regardless of the source of theinput air 104, the air parameter adjusting unit 106 may include aparameter adjustment device 108 that can be operated to adjust thetemperature/pressure of the input air 104. The parameter adjustmentdevice 108 includes a turbine and/or a compressor. In one embodiment,the parameter adjustment device 108 is an electric compressor thatcompresses ram air.

If the input air 104 is received while the aircraft is at high altitude,there may a requirement (e.g., contractual or regulatory) that ozone beremoved from the input air 104 before being provided to location 112 asoutput air 120. To that end, the ECS 102 also includes an ozoneconverter 110 coupled between the air parameter adjusting unit 106 andthe location 112. The exact location of the ozone converter 110 can bevaried from that shown in FIG. 1 in different embodiments of the presentinvention.

As discussed above, in some cases it may be desirable to bypass theozone converter 110 when the ECS 102 receives input air 104 from a lowaltitude source. To accomplish this, one prior art approach was toinclude bypass line 116 and diverter 114 that caused the input air 104to be bypassed around the ozone converter 110. In FIG. 1, bypass line116 and diverter 114 are shown in dashed line to indicate that they arenot required (or even desired) components of the ECS 102 according toone embodiment.

Embodiments of the present invention are directed to an ozone converter110 that can be used in the system 100. According to one embodiment, theozone converter 110 includes an internal bypass that allows air tobypass the ozone converter's core without requiring a separate externalbypass (e.g., without requiring either diverter 114 or bypass line 116).Of course, the inclusion of diverter 114 or bypass line 116 into ECS 102does not change the fact that any system that includes an ozoneconverter 110 as disclosed herein is within the scope of the presentinvention. In some cases, the ozone converter 110 can save space in ECS102 because diverter 114 and bypass line 116 are not required. Removalof such elements may provide a space saving that exceeds any increase insize of the ozone converter 110 due to the provision on an internalbypass within the ozone converter 110 as disclosed herein.

FIG. 2 illustrates an embodiment of an ozone converter 110 in the “open”or “bypass” state. The ozone converter 110 includes two separate airpassages though which air can pass through it. In particular, the ozoneconverter 110 includes an outer passage 202 and an internal bypass 204.In this embodiment, the outer passage 202 surrounds at least a portionof the internal bypass 204.

The ozone converter 110 includes an inlet 206 and an outlet 208.Regardless of the state of the ozone converter 110, air enters at inlet206 and exits at outlet 208. In the illustrated embodiment, the inlet206 and outlet 208 are connected to one another by an exterior shell210, which is also referred to as outer shell or outer housing 210. Theterm “downstream” as used herein related to components or locationsshall refer to the order in which a substance (e.g. air) traverses thecomponents. In particular, a component or location is downstream ofanother if air passes through the component or location after passingthrough the other component or location. For example, assuming air isflowing from left to right in FIG. 2, outlet 208 is downstream of inlet206. Conversely, and in the same vein, inlet 206 is upstream of outlet208.

Enclosed within the outer shell is a core 212. The core 212 can beformed of any type of material that causes or otherwise aids in theconversion of ozone into oxygen. For instance, in one embodiment, thecore 212 is formed at least partially of palladium. In one embodiment,the internal bypass 204 passes through the core 212. That is, air thatenters the internal bypass 204 can traverse from the inlet 206 to theoutlet 208 without contacting the core 212. In one embodiment, theinternal bypass 204 is arranged along a central axis 214 of the ozoneconverter 110 and has a generally cylindrical shape. A bypass cylinder205 defines the internal bypass 204 in one embodiment.

The bypass cylinder 205 includes a blocking element 220 disposedtherein. In one embodiment, the blocking element 220 is circular disc.The blocking element 220 can be translated from an open position whereair can travel through the internal bypass 204 to a closed positionwhere it blocks air from passing through internal bypass 204. As such,the blocking element 220 has area that is the same or nearly the same asan area of an inner diameter of the bypass cylinder 205 so that it caneffectively block air from traveling through the bypass cylinder 205when the ozone converter 110 is in the bypass state. In one embodiment,the translation from the open to closed position (and vice-versa) can beeffected by rotation of a rod 221 to which the blocking element 220 iscoupled. In combination, the rod 221 and the blocking element 220 form abutterfly valve. As illustrated, the rod 221 passes through the walls ofthe bypasses cylinder 205 at two locations.

In the illustrated embodiment, air is prevented from entering the outerpassage 202 by a blocking sleeve 222 that surrounds a portion of thebypass cylinder 205 proximal the inlet 206. The blocking sleeve 222 isarranged such that when the blocking element 220 is in the open position(e.g., the ozone converter 110 is in the bypass state), the blockingsleeve 222 blocks air from entering an outer passage opening 224 thatexists between the inlet 206 and an end 230 of the bypass cylinder 205.As generally described above, in one embodiment, the other end 232 ofthe bypass cylinder 205 extends to a location downstream of the core212. It shall be understood, however, that the blocking sleeve 222 couldbe disposed within the bypass cylinder 205 in one embodiment. In FIG. 2,the path of air through the ozone converter 110 is shown by arrows 240.

Referring now to both FIGS. 2 and 3, as the rod 221 is rotated, theblocking element 220 translates from the open position (FIG. 2) to theclosed position (FIG. 3). In addition, the blocking sleeve 222 is movedin the downstream direction such that air is allowed to enter outerpassage 202 through outer passage opening 224. Thus, in FIG. 3, the airtravels as illustrated by arrows 242 and contacts the core 212.

The outer shell 210 can take on any shape but in one embodiment, theouter shell 210 has a cross-sectional diameter (d) that increases fromthe inlet 206 to a maximal value d_(max) at or downstream of the core212. In one embodiment, the outer shell 210 decreases in diameter fromthe location downstream of the core 212 to the outlet 208. The increasein diameter causes the air to slow and increases the dwell time of theair in the core 212. The particular shaping of the shell 210 can beadjusted such that a desired dwell time of the air in the core 212 canbe achieved.

FIG. 4 shows the ozone converter 110 without an outer shell. Theconverter 110 includes the same or similar components as those describedabove. In addition, the rod 221 is shown coupled to a rotary actuator408. The rotary actuator 408 can impart rotary motion to the rod 221 tocause variation of the orientation of blocking element 220 to rotatefrom the open position shown in FIG. 2 to the closed position shown inFIG. 3.

In the illustrated embodiment, the rod 221 is coupled to the blockingsleeve 222 by a connection assembly. As illustrated, the rod 221 passesthrough then walls of the blocking sleeve 222 at two locations. Theconnection assembly includes a rod crank 402 that extends from and isfixedly attached to the rod 221. The rod crank 402 mates with a sleeveprojection 404 that is fixedly attached to the blocking sleeve 222.While one orientation of a connection assembly is shown that includesrod crank 402 and sleeve projection 404, it shall be understood thatother configurations can be utilized. In the illustrated embodiment, asthe rod 221 is rotated (e.g., counterclockwise as shown in FIG. 4), itcauses rod crank 402 to impart motion in the direction shown by arrow406 to blocking sleeve 222. This motion cause the blocking sleeve 222 tomove away from the inlet 206 to expose outer passage opening 224 toallow air to flow in the manner shown in FIG. 3. As illustrates, theouter passage opening 224 is covered by blocking sleeve 222 so air flowsthrough the bypass cylinder 205 and does not contact the core 212.

While the invention has been described in detail in connection with onlya limited number of embodiments, it should be readily understood thatthe invention is not limited to such disclosed embodiments. Rather, theinvention can be modified to incorporate any number of variations,alterations, substitutions or equivalent arrangements not heretoforedescribed, but which are commensurate with the spirit and scope of theinvention. Additionally, while various embodiments of the invention havebeen described, it is to be understood that aspects of the invention mayinclude only some of the described embodiments. Accordingly, theinvention is not to be seen as limited by the foregoing description, butis only limited by the scope of the appended claims.

1. An ozone converter comprising: an outer housing having an inlet andan outlet; a core disposed within the outer housing; a bypass cylinderdisposed between the inlet and the outlet and that passes through thecore such that air within the bypass cylinder does not contact the core;and a blocking sleeve that surrounds a portion of the bypass cylinderand that is moveable from a first position to a second position, whereinin the first position air that enters in the inlet is directed by theblocking sleeve into the bypass cylinder and in the second position airthat enters the inlet is allowed to enter an outer passage between thebypass cylinder and the outer housing.
 2. The ozone converter of claim1, wherein the outer housing has a cross-sectional diameter thatincreases from the position near the inlet to a maximum value at or nearthe core.
 3. The ozone converter of claim 2, wherein the cross-sectionaldiameter decreases from the maximum value to a smaller value at theoutlet.
 4. The ozone converter of claim 1, wherein the core is formed atleast partially of palladium.
 5. The ozone converter of claim 1, furthercomprising: a blocking element disposed within the bypass cylinder, theblocking element being disposed such that it at least partially blocksair from traveling through the bypass cylinder when the blocking sleeveis in the second position.
 6. The ozone converter of claim 5, furthercomprising: a rod passing through at least one wall of the bypasscylinder and coupled to the blocking element and that is operablyconnected to the blocking sleeve such that rotation of the rod in onedirection causes the blocking sleeve to move from the first position tothe second position.
 7. An ozone converter comprising: an outer housinghaving an inlet and an outlet; a core disposed within the outer housing;a bypass cylinder disposed between the inlet and the outlet and thatpasses through the core such that air within the bypass cylinder doesnot contact the core; and a blocking element disposed within the bypasscylinder and moveable from a first position to a second position, theblocking element being disposed such that it at least partially blocksair from traveling through the bypass cylinder when in the firstposition.
 8. The ozone converter of claim 7, further comprising: a rodpassing through at least one wall of the bypass cylinder and coupled tothe blocking element such that rotation of the rod in one directioncauses the blocking sleeve to move from the first position to the secondposition.
 9. The ozone converter of claim 7, wherein the outer housinghas a cross-sectional diameter that increases from the position near theinlet to a maximum value at or near the core.
 10. The ozone converter ofclaim 9, wherein the cross-sectional diameter decreases from the maximumvalue to a smaller value at the outlet.
 11. The ozone converter of claim7, wherein the core is formed at least partially of palladium.
 12. Theozone converter of claim 7, further comprising: a blocking sleeve thatsurrounds a portion of the bypass cylinder and that is moveable from afirst location to a second location, wherein when the blocking sleeve isin the first location air that enters in the inlet is directed by theblocking sleeve into the bypass cylinder and when the blocking sleeve isin the second location air that enters the inlet is allowed to enter anouter passage between the bypass cylinder and the outer housing.
 13. Theozone converter of claim 12, wherein the blocking sleeve is in the firstlocation when the blocking element is in the second position.
 14. Theozone converter of claim 13, wherein the blocking sleeve is in thesecond location when the blocking element is in the first position. 15.A system comprising: a source of input air; one or more air parameteradjusting devices that change one or both of the temperature andpressure of the input air to produce conditioned air; and an ozoneconverter that reduces the ozone content of the conditioned air toproduce output air, the ozone converter including: an outer housinghaving an inlet and an outlet; a core disposed within the outer housing;a bypass cylinder disposed between the inlet and the outlet and thatpasses through the core such that air within the bypass cylinder doesnot contact the core; and a blocking element disposed within the bypasscylinder and moveable from a first position to a second position, theblocking element being disposed such that it at least partially blocksair from traveling through the bypass cylinder when in the firstposition.
 16. The system of claim 15, further comprising: a rotaryactuator operably coupled to the blocking element that causes theblocking element to move from the first position to the second position.